IN THE NEWS - Bush Discusses Middle East Policy in State of

IN THE NEWS - Bush Discusses Middle East Policy in State of the Union Speech
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, February 05, 2005

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders before those leaders hold talks next week. Her trip is part of the Middle East peace efforts that President Bush discussed this week in his State of the Union speech.

Miz Rice is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem on Sunday. She visits Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Monday.

Then, on Tuesday, Mister Abbas and Mister Sharon are to meet in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. It will be the first time Israeli and Palestinian leaders have met in more than four years. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is holding the talks. King Abdullah of Jordan also is expected to take part.

President Bush announced that he will ask Congress for three hundred fifty million dollars for the Palestinians. He said the money would go for political, security and other reforms. In his words: "The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace is within reach – and America will help them achieve that goal."

In his speech Wednesday night in Congress, Mister Bush also called for greater freedoms in other parts of the Middle East. He said reform is already taking hold from Morocco to Jordan to Bahrain.

He called on Saudi Arabia to give its people more power to decide their future. And he spoke¹ of Egypt, another American ally, which he called "a great and proud nation." He said, "Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East."

In much stronger language, Mister Bush said that Syria still permits its territory and parts of Lebanon to be used by terrorists. And he said Iran remains² the world's main state supporter of terrorism. He said Iran is seeking nuclear weapons while denying its people freedom. The president had a message for Iranians. "As you stand for your own liberty," he said, "American stands with you."

In London Friday, reporters asked Secretary Rice if the United States might ever attack Iran. In her words: "The question is simply not on the agenda at this point." She said diplomatic steps remain. Miz Rice is on her first trip as top American diplomat³. London was the first stop among European capitals.

In his State of the Union speech, the president praised the Iraqi people for voting in elections. He said terrorists are trying to destroy the hope that Iraqis expressed. Millions of people voted Sunday for a new Transitional National Assembly.

Leaders of the opposition⁴ Democrats⁵ in Congress criticized Mister Bush for not saying when American troops will leave Iraq.

The president introduced an Iraqi human rights activist⁶ whose father was killed by the Saddam Hussein government. Safia Taleb al-Souhail shared an emotional hug with another guest, Janet Norwood, the mother of a United States Marine⁷ killed in battle in Iraq.

In the News in VOA Special English was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。